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Speaking of my apartment, during this time, I never returned to my cave in the elder’s enclave on the mountain. Renting an apartment costs 100 contribution points a day, which was nearly all the profit from making a single pill. My estimates put that at a cost of 50 gold a day to rent this room, which was a completely insane price. However, I didn’t care too much about contribution points since they were easy enough to earn, and I would much rather live in a well-appointed apartment than a cave of bare rock.

When I finally reached Martial Master Peak, it had been years since I had seen Deacon Liu, and I had never heard anything from the elder. As long as I provided them with a dozen or so pills every day, they seemed content enough to let me live however I wanted to. They got countless free pills, and I received unlimited free practice. It was a win-win. They profited more from the exchange, but I was the only one who would get to keep my gains.

The true test was coming though. What would happen now that I had reached Martial Master Peak?

After spending a few months completely stabilizing my cultivation, I returned to the elder’s enclave to talk with Deacon Liu.

“Deacon,” I said, “long time no see!”

“Little Fang,” he said surprised, “what brings you back?”

“I broke through to Martial Master Peak. I wanted to learn about advancing further.”

“I see,” said the deacon in a somber tone, “that was quicker than expected. I hope you didn’t rush your cultivation.”

“No, deacon, I was careful. I believe I have a solid foundation.”

“Very well. I’ll send a message to Elder Mu. You will need to discuss advancement with him. Just wait in your room for now, and I will get you when he’s ready.”

I spent three days in my cave as I waited to meet with Elder Mu. Those few days drove home how much my life had been different these past few years. I had become used to living in a decent room again and having regular interactions with people. Returning to the ascetic life was uncomfortable.

Still, it was only a few days, and the deacon continued to provide me with herbs to work with.

“Disciple Fang,” said Deacon Liu as he entered my room, “it’s time. Follow me.”

The deacon’s attitude was somber as we walked to the elder’s office. It almost made me feel like I was being led to my execution. Why did the deacon seem so upset?

We entered the elder’s office, which had been cleaned up since the last time I saw it. The numerous scrolls that once littered the office had been packed away, and the papers on his desk had all been removed. Only a single scroll was left on the desk.

After guiding me inside, the deacon remained outside as he closed the door. Elder Mu and I were left alone.

“Take a seat,” said the elder, gesturing to the chair across from him.

I sat down and waited patiently as he examined me. He was using his qi vision to look at my energy body. That allowed him to closely examine my cultivation state and check for any problems. After talking with Jiao a while back, she taught me the basics of doing this, and it was how people had been able to tell what my cultivation realm was in the past. I wasn’t sure what the elder could see with his soul power, but mine allowed me to have a detailed view of someone’s meridians, allowing me to see and understand all the tiny imperfections in them.

“Better than I expected,” Elder Mu pronounced. “How do you assess your mental state?”

“Elder, the last time I advanced, the new impulses were difficult to control, but after two months in seclusion I do not believe they pose any risk.”

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He paused briefly to consider. “What if the sensations were ten or a hundred times more powerful? Do you think you could keep them under control?”

I hesitated. “I don’t think so. Even doubling the intensity might be a risk.”

“Yes,” said the elder, “Deacon Liu has failed you in this. He was supposed to keep you balanced so this wouldn’t be a problem.”

“Elder, I must accept blame for this. My doubts caused me to briefly rush my cultivation a few years ago. I cannot blame Deacon Liu for this.” It wasn’t my place to contradict the elder, so this was improper of me to say, but I couldn’t just throw the deacon under the bus here. Even if I still harbored doubts about the deacon, I would accept personal responsibility for my actions.

“It makes no difference,” said the elder, “what’s done is done. We have to work with what we have.”

The elder tapped the scroll that had been sitting on his desk. “This is your Rank 3 cultivation technique. It is Peak-Yellow and is a match with the ones used previously. Use it to raise your cultivation base to Grandmaster. If you need advice, contact Deacon Chen in the administration office. He will assist you.”

I hesitated before taking the scroll. “What are the mental effects of this technique?”

“Rank 3 techniques are a bit simpler than those that come before it. There are only two basic effects, and nearly every technique has one of the two. They can either increase or decrease the effects of the previous techniques you used. This one decreases the effects, so you should have no problems controlling yourself after cultivating it.”

“That’s great,” I said excitedly. I could finally stop worrying so much.

“No, it isn’t. Techniques that decrease the effects of previous ranks don’t just affect the mental component. They also result in significantly reduced total power. By cultivating this technique, your qi will be crippled compared to someone who cultivates an empowering technique.”

“So”—I hesitated—“should I wait and cultivate the more powerful technique?”

“There isn’t time,” said the elder. “You only have a limited window to break through, and I do not believe you can reach a stable enough state in time. However, it doesn’t matter and isn’t worth the effort anyway. Your qi will be weaker than others this way, but it shouldn’t affect you too much. Your use of your fire seed has shown that strength of qi is much less important for you.”

“I understand, elder.” I had already questioned him twice during this conversation, and it would be poor form to press further.

“The next Inner Sect Challenge will take place in one year. It would be best if you could advance before then. Otherwise, you will need to wait another three before you can become an inner sect disciple and begin learning Rank 3 alchemy. As long as you can advance to Grandmaster, I am confident I can secure you a promotion to the inner sect.”

“Yes, elder.”

With that, I left.

I didn’t return to my cave in the enclave. Instead, I went back to my rented room in the village since it provided a much more comfortable environment to cultivate in. Even after spending a significant number of credits purchasing different techniques, I still had thousands in my account. They should hold me over until I could advance, but if it looked like it would take months, I would need to do a bit of work to save coins first.

I could avoid this expense by just cultivating in my cave, and in deep cultivation, I wouldn’t notice the difference, but the thought of doing so repelled me. I would rather do the required preparations to be able to cultivate in my apartment than return to the cave.

I looked at the scroll the elder gave me.

I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the way the elder had described it. A cultivation technique that would intentionally make me weaker than others was not what I had been hoping for.

Did I have a choice though? At this point, could I go to another elder and try to get a Rank 3 cultivation technique from them? I could try, but it would completely burn my bridges with Elder Mu, and it was extremely likely I would just be turned away.

Thinking about the technique, I considered if Elder Mu might not be right in his selection. Assuming everything he told me was true, having a weaker strength wouldn’t be all that bad, at least for this life. I wouldn’t have to worry about the mental effects of cultivation anymore, so as long as I could still learn Rank 3 alchemy, this weakening technique could be a small blessing. Certainly, if the strengthening technique made the mental effects of cultivation ten or a hundred times more potent, it would be a serious problem.

If everything the elder said was true, I would use this technique. I just needed a way to know if I could trust him.

“Senior Sister Jiao,” I said, entering the pill hall, “can you help me with something real quick?”

Jiao was a member of the Sect Master’s faction, a faction I had dubbed the Eyes since my impression was that they were the eyes and ears of the Sect Master. Elder Mu was an independent, but he most closely aligned with the Snakes, so I planned to use Jiao as an independent check on this cultivation technique.

“Younger Brother Su,” she said, smiling, “what do you need?”

“Elder Mu gave me a new cultivation technique today, and I was hoping you could take a look and tell me what you know about it.”

“Oh… Oh!” she said in surprise. “You reached Martial Master Peak. Congratulations! Here let me take a look!”

I handed her the technique, but she gave it back after only a brief glance.

“Yeah, that’s the standard one,” she said in a pitying tone. “Sorry about that. I know you’ve been working hard, but, well, it happens.”

“What do you mean?”

“Cultivating that technique means you will barely be able to improve in the future. You can reach Peak Grandmaster, sure, but you’ll be weaker than most Grandmaster 2s that used the better one.”

“Is that the only downside?” I asked.

“Isn’t that enough?” she laughed. “I’ve never heard of any other problems, but being weaker is bad enough. Anyway, it’s what you got, and at least it will help calm down the problems cultivation can cause. Once an elder decides something, it is nearly impossible to change their minds.”

“Thank you, Senior Sister Jiao,” I said.

Since both my sources gave the same information, I could proceed.